'12 ⅔ innings and a whopping 21K' Is he actually the first starter? Scary Pitcher Has Eight Lost Games

Jul 20, 2024

드류 앤더슨. Sports Chosun DB

Unbeaten in 8 games in a row. In fact, he seems to be establishing himself as the team's first starting pitcher.

Drew Anderson, who was hired as a substitute after SSG Landers kicked out Robert Duggar, who had been sluggish early in the season, had one element of anxiety. He has been a bullpen pitcher in the U.S. this season. He has experience as a pitcher in the past, but it was impossible to immediately increase the number of pitches he throws again.

Therefore, even after entering Korea, he went through a build-up process to increase the number of pitches through actual games for about a month. Anderson pitched more than five innings for the first time in four games since coming to the KBO League.

Since his KBO League debut with two runs in six innings against LG on May 30, four games later, he has never lost in nine games. One of them was a relief appearance just before the All-Star break (one scoreless inning against 7/4 NC), so he has been undefeated in eight games as a starting pitcher. The only loss this season is against Hanwha (six runs in four innings) on May 24, before the number of pitches fully rose.

A game between the Doosan Bears and SSG Landers at Jamsil Stadium on the 29th. SSG Anderson is catching his breath. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2024.06.29/

Of course, not every game was perfect. Some games failed to start quality or came down from the mound before the fifth inning, but each time, the help of the batters and the good pitching of the bullpen were added to escape the losing requirements.

After the start of the second half, he seems to have completely got the hang of it. Anderson allowed only two hits in six ⅔ innings against Lotte on the 11th, allowing 10 strikeouts, two walks and two runs (non-earned), and also played in six innings against Kiwoom on the 19th with two hits (one home run) and 11 strikeouts, two walks and three runs. 6th win of the season.

In the match against Kiwoom, it was regrettable that the first pitch breaking ball thrown to Lee Ju-hyung in the sixth inning led to a three-run home run, but excluding that home run, it was close to a scoreless and flawless pitch. Anderson's power can also be confirmed by the fact that he has taken away as many as 11 strikeouts against the tricky Kiwoom lineup. He struck out as many as 21 in 12 ⅔ innings in two games he took the mound in the second half. In fact, it meets the conditions of an ace.

Lotte-SSG match held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 11th. SSG Anderson as a starting pitcher. Incheon = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.7.11/

When taking the mound as a bullpen pitcher, a powerful ball up to 155 to 156 kilometers stays in the early 150 kilometers when taking the mound as a starter, but he is performing much faster than expected. With Roenis Elias, who returned from injury, yet to find as much strength as last year, and Kim Kwang-hyun, who has recently fallen into a slump, Anderson will take the center stage of the team's starters.

youll@sportschosun.com